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CONNECTOR FOR TERMINALS 0F ELECTRIC CIRCUITS..

No. 545,471. Patentedsepm?, 1895.'

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M. FHUTO'UTKQWASHINGIBN. IMS4 UN ETE 'raras l JULES E. NEHER, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO THE WESTINGIIOUSE ELECTRIC AND MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF

SAME PLACE. f

CONNECTOR FOR TERMlNALS OF ELECTRIC CIRCUITS.

sPEcIFrcA'rIoN fqfmin'g 'part of 'Letters Patent No. 546,471,01atea september 17, 1895. applicati@ filed July so, 1894.4 serial No. 518,991. (No maar To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known 'that 1, JULEs E. NEHEa'aemQ zen ofthe Republic of Switzerland, residing in Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny, State'` of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Connectors for the Terminals of Electric Circuits, (Case No. 607,)

ing connection between the terminals of elec tric circuits, and has for its object to provide means whereby a close and rigid connectionv may be quickly and easily made and whereby perfect insulation of the terminals may be secured. In order to attain these objects{f mploy as a support for one contact-piece or erminal, or for one set of the same, as the case may be, a resilient non-conducting substance, which serves to press such terminal or set of terminals into close contact with the opposing terminal or set of terminals, and at the same time to surround and insulate the same from adjacent conducting parts.

My invention is primarily intended for use in connection withV motors operated by hightension alternating currents, to which purpose it is well adapted; but I do not desire to limit it to such use, since it is obviously well adapted for making connection between conductors carrying any variety of current and any va' riety of electrical machine, whether generator or motor.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of a connector embodying the essential features ofmy invention, and

Fig. 2 is a detail view showing the interrupted Viianged ring 3.

ot' insulating material are contact-pieces 5 and 6', said pieces being connected to the upper ends of bolts or pins 6, which are free to slide.,

inner end with an interrupted screw-thread adapted tofengage the screw-thread upon the Attached to the outer end of this cap or head, ypreferably by means of a screw-thread connection, is a hollow handle 8.

Through this handle extends a cable 9, in which is embedded the line conductor or conductors 11, therebeing two shown in the drawings. l Any desired packing 10 may be employed for filling the space between the cable and the handle 8. Fastened to the'interior ot' the head 7, immediately above its screwthread, and by any suitable means-as, for example, by screws 13-is an insulating-plate 12, preferably of hard rubber.

Attached to the- Fastened to the under side of the plate 12 by means of suitable bolts or screws is a contact-ring 14, and within this ring and similarly attached to the under side of the plate is a contact-piece or button 15. Each of these contact-pieces is connected to a conductor l1 by means of a binding-post 16. The contactpieces may be of any desired form and may be surrounded by insulating material, it' desired.

When it is desired to make connection between the two sets of terminals, the handle 8 may be grasped by the hand andv the interrupted screw-thread on the head 7 be caused to engage with the corresponding part of the ring 3, and the former may be turned sufnciently to bring the sets of terminals into engagement. A further rotation of the Said head will serve to depress the contact-pieces 5 5 'into the yielding material 4 to some extent, and by reason of the resilient character of said material 4 the terminals will be held in close contact. It will thus be seen that the parts may be readily united and as readily separated when desired, and that when united the connection between them is such that they will not become disengaged except Wh en such disengagement is desired.

The particular' device shown in the drawings and hereinbetore described is merely illustrative of the principle of my invention, and the details may be Widely varied within the range of mechanical skill Without departing from the spirit of the invention. Hence I do not desire to limit myself to the exact form of the device as a Whole, or to that of any of its parts, nor to the number of conductors or contacts employed; but

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a connector for the terminals of an electric circuit, the combination with a yielding7 resilient, insulating support for one of said terminals, of an unyielding, insulating supportJ for the opposing terminal and means for clamping the said parts together, substantially as described.

2. The combination of a head having a substantially unyielding insulating plate carrying a contact piece, with a soft rubber support carrying a contact piece and means for pressing said contact pieces together and into said soft rubber support, substantially as described.

3. The combination of a head having an unyielding insulating plate therein and having a screw-threaded inner end, With a base plate, a ring mounted thereon having a screw thread at its outer end, a body of yielding, insulating material in said ring, and contact terminals carried by said insulating plate and by said body of yielding, insulating material respectively, substantially as described.

4. The combination of ahead having an insulating plate therein and provided with a hollow handle, with an electric line conductor supported in and protected by said head and handle, a contact device carried by said insulating plate, a base plate, a ring carried by said base plate, a soft rubber insulator in said ring, and a contact device carried by said insulator and extending through said base plate, substantially as described.

5. The combination of a plurality of line conductors and a plurality of contact devices, with suitable supporting and means therefor, a soft rubber bed or plate, a plurality of contact devices supported thereby and means for clamping said two sets of contacts together, substantially as described.

(i. The combination with a line conductor and its terminal contact device suitably supported and insulated, a body of yielding, resilient, insulating material, an unyielding support therefor, a contact device supported thereby and means for forcing said contact devices together and maintaining them in contact, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name this 27th day of July, A. D. 189i.

JULES E. NEUER.

Witnesses:

JAMES W. SMITH, HUBERT C. TENER.

insulating 5o 

